Spear of Destiny: The CroftDrake Tale
by Prodigy Zero
Summary: This all takes place after Tomb Raider: Underworld and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Lara and Nate meet after they've been kidnapped to find the Spear of Destiny. But it takes them on a long journey that will either destroy them or make them stronger. "M"
1. 1 Hurry up and Wait

**Tomb Raider/Uncharted Crossover**

**POV:** Third Person

**Main characters:** Nate Drake, Lara Croft, Terry Sheridan, Chloe Frazer

**Summary:** This all takes place after _Tomb Raider: Underworld_ and _Uncharted 2: Among Thieves_. Lara and Nate meet after they've been kidnapped by an unknown pursuer who wants them to do all the dirty work and find the Spear of Destiny. But it takes them on a long, arduous journey that could either destroy them, or make them stronger than ever.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Tomb Raider, Uncharted, or any of the characters associated with these two stories. Although, I do like borrowing them and twisting them to my will. : )

**-1-**

"**Hurry up and Wait"**

Lara Croft stood naked in her 12 jet shower, letting the hot water caress her tired skin. Small drops of blood washed down the drain from her previous battle against the insane Natla. She closed her eyes, leaning against the shower wall as her right hands brushed against her supple breasts and down between her thighs to-

_WAHHH WAHHH WAHHH WAHHH_

"Oh, bloody hell." She growled as the alarms rang all over the house. "Never a dull moment…" She muttered, quickly pulling on a short, black silk robe as she moved silently across the room to her walk in closet. The wrap around headset blinked to life as she adjusted the mic and grabbed her 12 gauge shot gun. "Hilary, can you hear me?"

It crackled a moment, she peeked around the door frame and rolled across then entrance to her closed bedroom door. _"Yes Lara…who did you piss off this time?" _

"Don't know," she sighed, toeing the door open and glancing around the corner. Two men were coming up the left stair case, each with what seemed to be tranquilizer guns. Lara furrowed her brow, but before moving in on them, she pulled out a small piece of blue gum and pressed it firmly to her back molars. "Ah…here goes nothing." She sighed, quietly darting in between shadows and hurrying up to the two men on her stairs. They only noticed her when the 12 gauge went off and blew them both away.

"_Hey! There she is!"_ A small army appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Lara turned on heel and attempted to dart up to the top floor.

"Not zo fast, Lady Croft." She stopped short when two more men blocked her way up the stairs. Turning around, three people stood in the middle of the small army. Hilary, Zipp, and someone she never thought she would see again. Terry Sheridan was standing behind them with an M4 in his right hand and a Desert 5 on his hip. "I vill kill your friendz here if you do not cooperate vis me." Terry was standing next to the man that was speaking. He had a bald head, nasty red scars down the right side of his face and he had a thick Russian accent. He seemed vaguely familiar but she couldn't place him. "Mizz Croft, don't vaste my time."

With a disgruntled sigh, she dropped the shot gun to the floor and strode quietly down the stairs. "What is it I can do for you? As you can tell by my state of dress, you came at a rather inopportune moment."

The Russian let out a rough laugh and crossed his arms. "Ve are in a bit of a time crunch, zo I zuggest ve move along." He snapped his fingers and before Lara could process anything more, the butt of a Dragon Sniper hit the back of her head and knocked her unconscious.

Nathaniel Drake paced his kitchen angrily. "Elena…I don't understand." The blond leant against the counter facing him and let out a sigh. "How could you do this to me?"

She shrugged. "You don't excite me anymore, Nate. I told you I love you, not that I'm _in _love with you." Elena hugged his broad shoulders, grabbed the few bags she left at his door, and headed out. "Take care of yourself Nate…I'll call in a few weeks to check up on you."

Nate couldn't help but stare at the door after she left. Eventually he sat down on the couch to brood while a Philadelphia Fliers game played in the back ground. After a while his almond shaped eyes closed and he fell asleep…only to be rudely awoken to the sounds of splintering wood from his front door. Nate was still half asleep when a dart was shot into the side of his neck and a blindfold was wrapped around his eyes.

Lara was the first to wake up. Something held her eyes closed; her wrists were pinned behind her back since she was handcuffed to the aluminum seat of the aircraft. It was cold, somewhat wet, and her ass was numb. "Hello? I'm awake, is someone there?" Well, at least her mouth wasn't sewn shut. Heavy footsteps came closer, just before a calloused hand gently peeled the blindfold off her face. Lara clenched her eyes shut just for a moment, getting used to the fluorescent lights in the carrier jet.

"Want some Aspirin?" That thick, Scottish accent made Lara open her eyes.

"Terry…" She glared. "What the hell are you doing with here?"

"It's not what it looks like, love. I'm on your side here; just playing around Lazarovic to keep you safe." He raised his right hand, and put the M4 on the seat beside Lara. "I swear it." She watched his face closely, and sighed with relief. She could always tell when he was lying by watching his face. If his eyes twitched left or his lips made any silent movement, he was lying. But everything on his face was stoic as steel. "We've got some of your clothes over there…I'll uncuff you and you can change. But quickly, yeah? We're landing soon." He unlocked the cuffs and returned to stand at the entrance to the cock pit.

Lara noticed two more bodies slumped on the opposite side of the bench, but ignored them for the moment and scurried to the back of the plane where a back pack sat. She pulled out boots, woolen tights and Levis', a long sleeved black shirt and an orange, down jacket with a thick fur hood. She dressed quickly, slinging the empty back pack on and claiming her seat again. She watched quietly as one body moved around and sat up. A black hood was pulled over the figure's face, but the British accent was unmistakable. "Hello? Can someone get this bloody thing off my face?"

Lara jumped up from her seat and crouched in front of the woman, brushing the hood back. "Chloe?" She peeled the blindfold off and tossed it to the floor.

"Lara…what are you doing here?" She grabbed the key to the hand cuffs and let Chloe up just as Terry came back in.

"Yes Lara, what are you doing? Didn't I tell you to behave?" Terry smirked and took Lara's seat, watching as the dark haired Chloe groaned and stood up to rub the numb out of her ass.

"Relax Terry, I won't tell Lazarovic if you don't."

Terry nodded with a grin. "Deal."

Chloe's eyes widened and the other slumped over figure twitched. "Lazarovic? Is that who kidnapped us?" Terry nodded. "What the bloody hell does he want now?"

The figure twitched again and sat up, the hood falling from his face. "He shouldn't want anything, I watched him die."

Chloe took Nate's blindfold off and uncuffed him. "That's what I thought too."

"Well," Terry grunted and pulled a piece of veal jerky from a pocket on his coat. "You thought wrong, friend. That forest where you beat the shit out of him in Shambhala is also where he healed. The crazy little fuckers with cross bows decided to let him live, just so they could torture him some more." He took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. "Unfortunately for them he got to some of that voodoo water, contacted some old Soviet commanders with a radio left in the jungle, and a helicopter lifted him out."

The four sat in silence for a moment, Lara and Drake introducing themselves with a shake of the hand. "So, what does Lazarovic want with us?"

Terry sighed. "He's looking for the Spear of Destiny. Lazarovic figures if he can't get any more of that crazy resin to eat then he'll use the world's most ancient, and sought after tool of power. That is where you fine folks come in."

"Oh, I see," Chloe nodded with an eye roll. "Lazarovic has the brawn enough but not the brain enough, so he needs us to find it for him." She snorted and glanced at the cock pit as the plane began to descend. "What a fucking sore loser."

Terry nodded and glanced out a small window. "I agree, but unless you all want to die then I suggest you hand cuff yourselves and behave until I tell you otherwise."

Chloe glared at Terry. "Why should we listen to you? I don't know you."

Lara cuffed her hands behind her back and sat down. "It's alright Chloe; I do know him, and I trust him with my life."

With a stressed sigh, Chloe and Nate put their cuffs on and waited as the wheels touched down and the plane halted. "Appreciate that, Lara. Now please kids, don't embarrass me. I'm trying to help you out." He gave Lara a curt nod and stood behind the hostages while the cargo door slid open. Standing in the middle of a small army was Zoren Lazarovic.

Terry jabbed Lara in the shoulder with the muzzle of his M4. "Get moving." With perturbed expressions, the three captives headed down the ramp and into the white haze of snow drizzle. Lara vaguely recognized the far off peaks and mountains of Tibet, but said nothing. She was glad someone had sense enough to pack a winter jacket and snow boots for her.

"Lead zem to Hangar F; I vill be joining zoon. Zheridan, brief zem…" Lazarovic glared at each of them, the scar across the right side of his face wrinkled in distaste. "Und be zurough." Lazarovic turned swiftly towards another hangar, four of his posse in tow as the other three, plus Sheridan, lead Lara, Chloe and Nate to Hangar F.

Once inside the hangar their cuff remained on but the guards tended to back off. They leant against the walls of the large hangar smoking cigarettes and speaking in Russian. The main four gathered around a descent sized table covered in maps, old scriptures and oddly enough, blue prints that for some reason were familiar to Nate and Chloe.

"Well," Terry gave them a grim smile and shouldered his M4, leaning over the table. "You kids remember what I told you he's looking for."

"Yes, the Spear of Destiny." Lara interjected, staring at a map that kept probing her memory.

"Right. This is all the information gathered from 1945-"

"Directly after Hitler died." Nate mumbled, staring intently at the blue prints in front of him.

Terry huffed. "_Will_ you people let me finish?" Nate gave a sheepish smirk and shrugged. "As I was sayin', it's all been gathered after 1945; the last year of the known place the Spear of Destiny was. This," He pulled out an old map from World War 2 and pointed to a red "X". "Berlin, April 29th, 1945. This is where Adolf Hitler wrote his last will and testimate. Berlin is also the last known resting place of the Spear of Destiny. Lazarovic has been all over Berlin and has been unable to find the Spear, unsurprisingly."

Chloe snorted. "Does he know that Hitler wrote his will in a bunker, 50 feet underground?"

Terry sighed. "Yes, and we have broken into the closed out bunker. The Spear is not there. No one has been able to get concrete evidence on its whereabouts after Hitler's death."

"If no one can find it then why call us in? What makes him think we can do any better than the rest of the world?" Nate could only scoff out the words as he leant against the table.

Terry smirked and glanced at Lara. "Care to take a wild guess, Lara?"

She let out a sigh, and then studied the table. There was a long moment of silence before she snapped up straight, eyebrows high. "Well, based upon the evidence here, we have all been to one of the places that hold a clue as to the whereabouts of the Spear. Chloe, the museum that you and Nate broke into probably holds an urn or vas that is a clue. Then there is the map of South Africa where I found Pandora's Box…the Cradle of Life. What's there that can help I had no idea… That's my educated guess."

She gave the small group a shrug as Nate smirked at her. "Impressive, Lara. Too bad we've never worked together." Lara smiled back and blew a strand of hair from her eyes.

The sliding doors were thrown open as a group of four angry Russians pounded in. "Zheridan, have zey been briefed?"

Terry brought his M4 around to the front and took a step away from the table. "Yes sir, mostly."

Lazarovic nodded and stood in front of him. "Zo, you all know vhy you are here. Ze fust ztop vill be very familiar to you and Chloe, Mizta Drake."

Nate nodded; unsurprised that Lazarovic would point him out first. "The museum in Istanbul…You realize they have significantly upgraded security since I broke in and Flynn left me there to rot. I doubt you can be as stealthy."

The smug grin on Lazarovic's face disappeared as he took three menacing steps towards Nate. "You got in ze vay of my destiny once, I vill not let you zpeak to me zat vay!" His fist balled up, Lazarovic punched Nate swiftly in the stomach, knocking him to his knees. Lazarovic kneeled before him, pinching his chin and looking him in the eye. "Do you understand me?"

Nate coughed and glanced up at him. "Yeah, yeah I got it…oh god I lost it." Lazarovic growled in frustration and kicked him in the shoulder, sending Nate flying across the cement floor on his back.

"Take zem to ze prizen cellz. Ve vill leave in zix houez." The soldiers stared at him for a moment, cigarettes dangled between their stunned lips at how angry Lazarovic became just from a few comments. "HURRY UP!" He stormed from the Hangar as three guards and Terry escorted the prisoners to their cells.

"Always the same with this guy, huh? Hurry up and wait…" Nate sighed and winced, his shoulder slightly throbbing. But he'd had much worse.

_Kay folks, first chapter. Please review, the few of you that do read this. I'd like to make this story fairly long since I have some great ideas for it. Anyway, review it please!_

_3 Prod Z_


	2. 2 Breaking and Entering Again

**-2-**

"**Breaking and Entering…Again"**

The cell awaiting the trio was twenty feet underground in a heated bunker beneath Hangar J. It was 14 by 8 with two small cots bunk-bed style, a single toilet, one sink and a bucket that they could only guess what it was there for. Lara sat cross-legged on the dirt covered floor while Chloe and Nate sat on the bottom bunk watching her map out the Cradle of Life in the dirt.

Her pointer finger drew long lines that became a forest, ending at a cave. All around it was small triangles she used to mark the locations of different tribes around the area. "I have to tell Kosa." She murmured, putting a finger to the small piece of "gum" still stuck to her molar and pulled it out.

"Lara, what is that?" Chloe leant forward to watch as the blue gum was pulled away to reveal a small, flesh colored pyramid, which she placed in her right ear. It was nearly invisible.

"Zipp, are you alright?" There was severe static for a moment before his familiar voice rattled in.

"_Yeah, surprisingly enough. Lazarovic left us unconscious but alive and well. Where are you?" _

She sighed, only slightly surprised that Zipp had figured out who the Russian was. "I'm in Tibet with Chloe Frazer and Nathan Drake. Lazarovic is looking for the Spear of Destiny."

"_I see…does that mean you're going back to Africa then?" _How the hell did he know that?

"Yes, but not right away. In," She checked the wrist watch on Nate's left arm. "Five hours and thirty-seven minutes we'll be on our way to Istanbul, Turkey. I need you to tell Kosa to warn the tribes in Africa. Lazarovic is going after the Cradle of Life."

"_No problem." _Lara could hear his fingers tapping quickly at the keys on his computer in the back ground. "_Turn your ear piece off to reserve the battery life. Turn it back on exactly 30 minutes before you leave and I'll fill you in on any news. Keep safe Lara."_

"Thank you Zipp, I will." She tapped the small piece and it clicked off in her ear. "I don't think this trip will be easy at all." She sighed, staring at Nate as she leant against the wall.

"Pity," He smirked sarcastically, "I was having such a nice day, too."

The three rested for the next five hours, discussing the possible ways to get around museum security for their first stop. "Do you think Lazarovic will send just you, Nate?"

He sighed. "No, I think he will send a few henchmen to make sure I'm not doing anything funny. Maybe a choice man to go side-by-side with me." Nate shrugged and stood up, stretching his arms up over his head. "Either way, we're leaving soon and we have about a seven hour flight ahead of us."

"Oh bloody hell, I hope we're not going to be in that blasted carrier jet again." Chloe moaned, rubbing at her eyes.

"I think the comfort of our trip is the least of our worries." Lara sat on the top bunk and tapped the small bud in her ear. "Zipp, are you there?"

Static for a moment, then; _"Yes, Lara. I have contacted Kosa and he is taking care of our friends in Africa. As for your trip to Istanbul, that is all on you. It would be more helpful if you had a man on the inside."_

Lara smirked softly. "I'm surprised you don't know Zipp, what with your extensive knowledge." She paused a moment for a bit of dramatic effect. "Terry Sheridan is our unintentional man on the inside."

"…_put me in his ear, Lara."_

"Right," she sighed quietly, standing up and leaning against the cell bars. "Just a moment then." Lara cracked her neck and stuck one arm out between the bars of the cell. "Hey! Guard! Hey, come over here!" A thick, tank of a Russian man strode down the hall carrying an M4 like a football. Well, someone was untrained.

"_What_?" He spat, tongue lapping over his thick lips as he eyed her, then Chloe.

She trailed a few fingers over his jaw and smiled. "Bring Sheridan over here, will you?"

He glared at her. "Why would I do that for you?"

Lara smiled, reached into the waist band of her tight pants, and pulled out a small wad of American money. "Because I will pay you handsomely to be my lap dog for the duration of our stay here." She tucked it into his pocket and let her forearms rest on the horizontal bar.

The guard smirked and nodded. "Okay." He turned away but Lara grabbed his bicep.

"Do you like working for Lazarovic?" She asked softly as he looked over his shoulder at her.

The guard shook his head and glanced both ways down the hall. "_Net_. I only stay because I have no moneys. I was sent to boarding school in Siberia very young. Lazarovic kidnapped me and the other guards few years ago."

She nodded and stuck a hand out to him. "I would like to recruit you as a…house guard in London after we leave here. I could train you properly…would you like to come back with us?"

With a grin and a nod, he shook her hand. "Yes. If I make it out alive."

Lara smiled. "Lara Croft… call me Croft. Everyone else does."

He nodded and spat at the ground. "Mikhail Gorbachev. Call me Mikhailovic… I will have Sheridan here in a moment, but he must hurry. We leave in fifteen minute." Mikhailovic clicked on his radio and whispered something in Russian. "He is coming, Croft."

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Spasiba, Mikhailovic."

He laughed. "Mne oche vami, Croft." (A.N. _Spasiba_ means thank you and _Mne oche vami_ is I like you.)

Not a minute later familiar thick soled, army boots thumped down the lower chamber and Lara spotted her friend. "What is it, prisoners?" He asked in an authoritarian voice.

Lara snorted. "Ease up, Sheridan. Mikhailovic is on our side… speak freely."

Sheridan's eyebrow rose and he smiled a little. "You work fast, Croft… what is it you want from me then?" Quickly, she pulled the bud from her ear and placed it in Terry's. "What's this for?"

"_Terry Sheridan, can you hear me?" _

"…Yes?" Lara heard nothing but monosyllable answers from Sheridan as he turned away from them and took a short stroll down the hall. The rest of them waited at the cell until more boots stomped down the grated and cement steps. Terry hurried back over to them, shaking his head when Lara asked for the bud back.

"Why not?"

He rolled his eyes. "Because we're not through yet."

"Gorbachev, Sheridan, unlocks the prisoners and brings them to the plane." Another guard was shouting at Mikhailovic (aka Gorbachev) and tossed him the keys. "We leave in five minute."

All three prisoners were corralled to the plane by Terry and Mikhailovic. It was much nicer than the carrier jet they arrived in. The somewhat small, personal jet was packed full of equipment and electronics so that only the wet bar and eight seats near the front were open. Nate and Lara were in the back two seats, Chloe and Terry in front of them, preceded by Mikhailovic and another guard. Lazarovic and one of his cronies were sitting in the front, helping themselves to a bottle of Vodka as a fold out table was lain out straight and several pieces of multicolored paper were put on it.

The engine rumbled as the wheels began to turn and the steel bird pulled itself down the snowy runway. Lara leant over in her seat towards Nate as the equipment in the cabin rattled. "We should try to convince Lazarovic to make Terry go with you once we get to the museum…or at the very least Mikhailovic."

Nate nodded in agreement, opening his mouth to say something before they were so rudely interrupted. "Drake, come over here." He sighed at Lazarovic but obeyed, and strode over to the small table. "I azzume you remember vere to go in."

"Yeah…from the sewers at the coast of Istanbul."

A sausage-like finger jabbed at the focus of the table; a large blue print of the bottom and second floors to the museum. "You and ze ozzez vill enta in ze zame location-"

"Me and the others?" Nate cut him off and earned a glare.

"Yez, ze ozzez. Zeridan, brief your people." Lazarovic stepped away from the table with a snort and watched as Terry came forward from his seat.

"Well… we will be entering from the south side, opposite where you and Mr. Flynn came in before. The vas we are looking for is from China and looks just like this." He pulled out a 20X43 inch picture of a hand painted Chinese vas. It was a pure porcelain white with blue clouds and wind. On one side was an old man smoking a pipe dressed in traditional tea ceremony robes. "We believe that in this vas is the first half of the Spear."

Chloe interjected and stood up. "What do you mean the first half? I though the Spear was one continuous piece."

"Right, well based on the evidence we have collected over the last few weeks suggests that after Hitler died, the orders from his men were to break it into pieces…at the least two."

"So there could be more?" Nate questioned.

Terry sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. We only know about the two at the moment and we're hoping that's all there is. For the time being, we will just be worried about the first piece." His fingers traced the path they would take from the sewer to the first floor. "Now, when the grandfather clock rings four am, there will be four dongs. At each dong a charge will be blown on the bottom floor of the basement. From there the path will be pretty much a straight shot."

He continued to outline their rout, many times over until all eight passengers on the plane could run it blindfolded. With a second of silence, Nate held up a hand. "Now, this may be a crazy question but how many of us are actually going to go _into_ the museum?"

Terry shrugged a moment and glanced at Lazarovic. "Zer vill be zree going to za museum. Lady Croft, Mizta Drake, and my azzociate Mizta Zeridan vill accompany vou to make zure zere is no zhit biznuzz going on."

Sheridan nodded and gave a quick wink to Lara that went unnoticed by the others. "And why am I the one going with him? Why not Miss Frazer?" Lara asked, arms crossed.

The guard that sat upfront next to Lazarovic smirked at her with yellowed teeth. "Cause you've got betta stealth skills than her…and we need her for collateral."

"Collateral?" Nate asked, glancing between the oddly accented guard and Lazarovic.

"Yes, in case the two of us don't come back…or we come back without Mr. Sheridan." Lara answered with a shrug. It made plenty of sense to her.

Terry sat back down and tucked his M4 away under the seat. "We're landing in a few hours…I suggest you two get some rest." Lara and Nate went back to their seats, both trying to close their eyes. Lara couldn't sleep but Nate seemed to drift off fairly easily; so she pretended to sleep and listened to Lazarovic speak to his guard in Russian.

"_When do we get to kill the prisoners, Sir_?"

"_When I have the Spear of Destiny in hand. We will leave them in the Cradle of Life…a trail of dynamite with have to suffice. I will tell Gorbachev to watch the prisoners for five minutes after we have the Spear and leave. Once outside, you will detonate the explosives_." After that their talking became quieter until only the roar of the plane's engines were audible. None of that was news to Lara and given the right moment inside the Cradle of Life, she could have figured out their plane. At least now she had time enough to tell the others.

Leaning over in her seat, she reached out to Nate and gently tapped his shoulder. One eye opened to glanced at her. "Yes?" She smirked at him and gestured for him to lean forward. He sighed, straitening up in his seat and cocking his head towards her. "What is it I can do for you?"

"Lazarovic is going to blow us up with some dynamite in the Cradle of Life after he gets the second half of the Spear…just thought you might want to know so we can make a plan to get the hell out of there."

He stared at her for a moment, partially dumbfounded. "Oh…we should tell the others."

Lara smirked. "Which is why I woke you up."

"Thanks, Croft."

Their personal jet had a mid flight connection with a water craft. That small craft dropped five passengers off in a tiny rubber boat holding extra clothing and stealth gear. Lara, Terry and Nate were accompanied in the boat by Lazarovic and his guard. The three changed in the rubber craft as Lazarovic's guard steered the boat towards the coast of Istanbul.

It began to slow down until the small boat stopped at the entrance to the sewers. Nate glanced at it and pulled on his welding glasses. "The gate has been fixed since last time. I'll need your welding torch, Mr. Sheridan." Terry nodded, digging into his tool belt to pull out a small flint and a pocket sized welder's torch. Nate lit it, the other members glaring hard against the harsh flame. He took two minutes to cut enough bars for a big enough entrance to the sewers. Handing the tools back to Terry, Nate steadied himself on the boat, brought his right boot up, and smashed it hard into the metal barrier.

The large piece of rusted steel broke free from the out confines and fell inwards with a heavy metal thud. Sewer water splashed up at them, curiously making Lazarovic's guard scoot back in the boat. All eyes turned to him for a moment before he coughed awkwardly and said; "Rats are down there." Lara couldn't help but roll her eyes and head into the sewers first. Terry was at the butt end of their group as Lazarovic and the guard waited in the boat.

"It vill take no more zan tventy minutez. If no vone returnz, or zomevone returnz vith oot my azzociate, I vill detonate ze remote bombz in your ztealth radioz." They all glanced at the radios which, they obviously needed and couldn't just drop it somewhere. Nate had to give Lazarovic credit for thinking of that.

Without a reply the three headed into the sewer system. It was vaguely familiar to Nate but they weren't at the same entrance as last time which could thoroughly fuck them up if he wasn't paying attention. Nate pulled out the map of the sewers he was given previously, and turned his headlamp on. Lara and Terry crowded around him. "According to these sewer maps, right now we are directly under the Egyptian Archeological Dig display at entry point "B". We need to arrive at "W" which is the Chinese Display from the Ming Dynasty up to the 21st century. Ironically, this display is in the very center of the museum." They all stayed quiet for a moment, staring intently at the complicated map.

Lara cleared her throat and stood up. "Well, I suggest we get moving before our twenty minutes are up and we have no hands to grab that vas with." The men agreed quietly and Nate took the lead, Lara in the middle with Terry bringing up the rear.

The group headed south, the floor of the sewers slowly rising as they came to a dead end. Terry snorted and looked at the solid wall in front of them. "Now what, genius?" Nate smirked at him and pointed to his right. Some bricks had become loose and were sticking out of the wall just far enough for foot and hand hold. "You expect me to climb this?"

"Only if you want to impress me." Lara smiled, putting the tranquilizer gun away that they had been given, and beginning the ascent up the right wall. Nate went up after her, Terry standing below them in disbelief. Reaching the top of the loosened bricks, Lara grabbed the ledge of the sewer floor above her and pulled herself up. She turned around, locking forearms with Nate and helping him up. Sheridan scrambled after them, slipping on every few bricks until at last he reached the top and needed both partners help to get him over the ledge. "You're out of shape, Terry."

He silently flipped her off and stood up. Just five feet from the ledge crawled up on a wide gap separated the two sides. Too far to jump, they stood at the edge and looked down into the darkness. Flowing water was heard at the bottom, but all was too dark to see. "Over here." Nate pointed up to their left side where a rusted pipe ran along the wall and into the ceiling far above them. Nate gave Lara and Terry a boost up, jumping up from the opposing wall to wedge himself close enough to grab the pipe. The three moved quietly along the pipe, every few feet a hand would slip and a boot scrambled to the wall to save them from dropping into the dark pit below.

Once at the other side, they wiped their hands off and stood at the part in the sewers. "Which way, Nate?" He pulled the map out and traced a line with one finger.

"To the left. Then we make a right but…but this is strange." He stared hard at the paper in his hands, seeing a small star shape in the middle of their next tunnel. "This pipe is white tagged."

"White tagged?" Terry looked over his shoulder at the map and saw several of the star shapes. Two of which were obstructing their path. "What is a white tagged pipe?"

"That's a steam puncture to let pressure out of the system. I don't know how to get by it."

"What if we go right here then straight through entry 3 and go around the steam pipes?" Lara suggested looking down both hallways.

"No," Nate shook his head. "It'll take too long that way. It'll be twenty minutes just to get from entry 3 to point F. We _have_ to go through the steam puncture."

Terry nodded and grabbed the map from Nate, shoving it in his pocket. "Then let's go and figure it out there." They had no other choice, and followed Terry down the tunnels. The group had to ascend a pile of debris, reach a high up stone tablet and from there crawl up a rusted ladder to a small hole in the high up wall. A long ladder from the exit of the hole on the other side let them reach the soggy ground.

Following Nate down the right hall from the ladder, they stopped in the center of the hallway. Just as shown on the map there was a ten inch pipe that opened up from the ceiling, letting steam flow down the walls to the floor. "Alright, what's your suggestion?" Nate asked as Terry examined the pipe.

He began to dig around in the utility belt. "This," He grinned, pulling out what looked like a tire iron with a metal plate in the center. On the top of the metal plate was a threaded piece that looked like it would screw into something. "If I can get up high enough I will be able to screw this over the valve. It will cut off the steam flow until we head back and I can take it out."

Lara nodded. "Smart. Nate, help me give Terry a boost up." They both crouched against the wall, hands looped together between their legs like foot holds. Terry stepped into their hands, steadying himself for a moment before reaching towards the steam puncture. It got hotter as he got closer until the lid he had was mere centimeters away from the opening. With one final nudge, he shoved the threads into the valve opening and quickly cut off the steam supply. They let him down carefully, hurrying under the valve lid just in case it sprung a leak.

They moved down the hall, making a right turn and an immediate left turn. There were no more ladders or gaps in the flooring until they passed point F and made a left turn down the sewer and the floor began to descend ten degrees every five feet. They passed entry point 5, and turned left where a ledge blocked the floor. It went up six feet, just two feet away from the ceiling. Barely enough room for them to shimmy through.

Nate hefted himself up, helping Lara crawl up to the ledge, then Terry. They crawled slowly on their stomachs, the ledge still ascending until it was just a foot and 4 inches from the ceiling. They had to squeeze to fit, but made it work none the less. The ledge finally gave way on the other side, letting them drop down to the floor and stand up right. "Terry, I hope you have another one of those threaded tire irons." Nate stood in the middle of the hallway; just a steam pipe, brick and mortar separating them from point "W"…just where they needed to be to grab that vas.

"As a matter of fact… I don't."

"Shit," Nate cursed pacing back and forth in the small space.

"It's ok," Terry waved a hand at him." I'll go back, grab the lid and bring it back here, okay? Just give me a minute." They watched Terry hoist himself up the ledge and crawl through the dark space.

Lara smiled at Nate's worried expression and stood in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Nate, stop worrying. Worst case scenario is we're a little late and we throw the radio away before it's blown up. In that case we will have the first piece of the Spear and Lazarovic won't."

He stared at her a moment, and smiled, both leaning forward until they were close enough that their lips met for the briefest of moments…that is until Terry's muffled struggling was heard. Then they quickly backed away and gave the other a sheepish smile.

"Sorry it took me a minute." He dropped down the ledge and sighed, grease and water smeared over his face. Once again they gave him a boost to the ceiling and Terry screwed the valve lid in place. With the steam cut off, all they had to do was set the charges and wait for 4:00 am. After the charges were set in a perfect square, Terry clicked on his radio and spoke to Lazarovic. "We are ahead of schedule sir. The charges are set and we have three minutes to detonation."

Something static came in and only Terry could make out the words. He nodded, clicking the radio off as they back away from the charges and waited. Lara stared at her watch, beginning to count down aloud. "Commence detonation in 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…."

Terry pushed the button.

_DONG _

The blast was muffled by the loud chime of the clock.

_DONG _

The second button was pushed, and more debris fell to the watery floor.

_DONG_

Just the tiled floor stood between them and the display.

_DONG_

As the last chime sounded, Terry pushed the button one final time. The entire square of floor fell away to reveal a bright beam of light leading from the display room to the sewer. "Well, shall we?" Lara smiled at the men even though the majority of their situation was grim and deadly. One by one, they climbed up from the sewer into the display room and gaped in awe at the open space. They stood side-by-side, staring at the center of the room where a glass case held the very piece they were searching for. Hitler's Chinese, hand painted porcelain vas that held the first piece of the Spear of Destiny."

**Okay, second chapter. Sorry it took a while but this is about 3 pages longer than the first chapter. Hope I didn't disappoint anyone who enjoyed the first chapter. Please read and review. : )**

**3 Prodigy Z**


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